Stay
by gwcarver
Summary: Quinn's point of view as she helps Harry, Ron, and Hermione defeat Lord Voldemort. Quinn/Hermione, Fabranger, long one-shot.


I remember the first time I saw her.

Honestly, it wasn't anything special. I had just entered my second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, feeling at home at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall and enjoying a goblet of fresh pumpkin juice with my friend Santana Lopez. She was whispering in my ear the latest gossip she had overhead on Hogwarts Express when they called her name for the Sorting Hat.

Hermione Granger. Gryffindor.

We had all rolled our eyes. Another eternal optimist and do-gooder joining the House of Arrogance. The House of Gryffindor often received a lot of pomp and circumstance - _everyone_ had to know their victories and their failures were almost always blamed on outside forces. After all, a Gryffindor always believed they were right.

A Slytherin, on the other hand, would simply find another way to get what they want.

I had not cared about her then. That year was altogether too distracting with the addition of the famous Harry Potter and my cousin Draco Malfoy into Hogwarts. I had promised my parents I would look out for him, but he often found himself in petty squabbles with Harry Potter, and I soon got tired of cleaning up his messes. Coincidentally, however, Harry was a person of interest, and I kept a close eye on him.

Instead of befriending other first years in prominent Wizard families, Harry did the unexpected. He became close with Ron Weasley (of the quite unprominent Weasley family) and that wild-haired Hermione Granger. His behavior was not tactical or strategic, but unlike my hot-headed cousin, I could understand his motives. Harry wanted to surround himself with truly loyal friends, not people who were drawn to his fame.

I admit I helped Harry Potter and his friends without them knowing over the years. The first time was when the troll had trapped Hermione in the girls' bathroom. Much like his older brothers, Fred and George who were in the same year as me, Ron was incredibly slow in picking up charms. When he attempted (and failed) at casting the simple levitation spell, I cast it for him and hit the troll over the head with the troll's own club. I had hidden by the entrance of the bathroom, and when Dumbledore and the other professors rushed down the hallway, I ducked into an empty classroom.

The second time I helped was with the mandrakes for Professor Sprout. When I heard Hermione had been petrified along with the other students, I cast growth spurt spells over all the mandrakes so they would mature as quickly as possible. I actually invented the spell after much research in the Herbology section in the library and pretending to be interested in the subject around Professor Sprout. After the petrified victims were successfully given the antidote, I was glad to never step foot back in the greenhouse unless absolutely necessary.

Harry might have had a great wizarding family tree and Hermione might have been the brightest witch in her class, but every year they never failed to need my help. Their third year I had to heavily hint to Professor Lupin that I had seen a great black dog dragging Ron Weasley under the Whomping Willow; their fourth I had to tell Cedric Diggory how to solve the golden egg puzzle so he could pass it onto Harry; their fifth year I told Dobby about the Room of Requirement; and in their sixth year (my final year) I had to convince my overly ambitious cousin Draco to Imperius Katie Bell to deliver a cursed necklace to Dumbledore instead of Hermione.

I helped them because I knew Harry would be important later, and he wouldn't be able to achieve this importance without his friends. The problem was that Lord Voldemort had found out through Draco's weak mind that I had kept a close watch on him, and suddenly _I _was a person of interest.

"My beautiful Quinn," the Dark Lord purred to me. Lord Voldemort had taken up residence in the great Malfoy mansion and all the notable Death Eaters had taken their seats at the long table in the dining hall. My parents were seated next to the Malfoys with a notably shaken Draco sitting beside his parents. I stood behind my father's seat and the Dark Lord had approached me after demanding Lucius Malfoy's wand.

"My Lord," I said in automatic response. I kept my eyes downcast and avoided meeting his dark red eyes.

"I wish to give to you a task of most importance," he said in his whispery voice. My father had beamed then, so honored to have Lord Voldemort address his daughter in such a way. "I believe you've come to know Harry Potter and his companions quite well over the years."

I felt him trying to enter my mind then, trying to sift through my memories to confirm what I knew and to learn things he did not know. Unfortunately for him, the Fabrays were masters of Occlumency and maintaining a calm exterior under the highest pressure - the complete opposite of the Malfoys. He had let out the slightest sigh of disappointment when he learned I was just as skilled as my parents in blocking mind invasions.

"Yes, my Lord," I answered in the famous emotionless Fabray tone.

"Then you will be the lead Snatcher to get me the boy," Lord Voldemort hissed impatiently. "Alive."

"Of course, my Lord," I answered again in the same monotone voice. He had smiled then, exposing his inhuman sharp teeth, and suddenly my left forearm burned as if a red-hot brand was being pressed harshly against my skin. I winced, but that was all I had allowed myself to do - I knew what had happened.

Lord Voldemort had given me the Dark Mark.

They were incredibly easy to track; I was almost embarrassed for them. Predictably, Hermione was the one choosing their camp sites - all I had to do was research her past and find secluded areas she had visited and detect an over-abundance of Muggle-repelling charms. Admittedly, their invisibility was a problem, even though I had brought my own invisibility cloak to hide myself while I was trailing them. But I merely had to wait for one mistake for them to reveal themselves - I could be very patient.

Despite the Dark Lord's wishes, I was not going to bring them back to him. I had watched Harry Potter grow older and stronger over the years after all. In spite of his arrogance and hot temper, I knew what he was capable of doing with the help of his friends. He was going to win this war, and I was always on the winning side.

It only took a few months for the mistake to happen - the red-haired Ron Weasley left the group, confirming my tracking success. For the first time, I actually heard the sounds of the camp within the protective charms. There was mostly rustling and the sound of snow crunching underneath footsteps, but during the night I distinctly heard muffled sobs coming from the edge of the encampment.

Harry was not one to cry - I knew it was her.

Though I could not see her, I had come to know her well enough to know exactly what was happening. Hermione had given herself the first watch shift for the night, probably to be alone. She had found a dark spot on the edge of their protective charms and began to cry into her hand so Harry wouldn't be able to hear. Though my specialty was in blocking my own mind from intrusion, I could almost feel Hermione's mind rebuking herself for letting herself feel sadness and feeling so alone when there were much more important things at hand.

_You're not alone_, I thought. _From the first day I saw you, you've never been alone._

I had almost revealed myself then - I knew I wouldn't be able to see her, but Hermione would have been able to see me, and perhaps that would have brought her some solace. Perhaps she would have stepped out of her protected camp and allowed me to comfort her. Even though I have never comforted anyone or anything in my entire life (patting Santana's back during the Yuletide Ball while she cried after having a few too many fire whiskeys surely didn't count), I found myself willing to try. But it would have been alarming and confusing, so I kept a tight grip around my invisibility cloak and simply listened while she cried.

Their campsites were different after that - I could hear them every night with the help of a sound enhancement spell to cancel out their sound concealment charms. They had grown careless, foolish, or a combination of both. Knowing their sense of loyalty, they were leaving a faint trail so Ron could find them. Incredibly stupid. Luckily the other Snatchers were too dense to be able to track them properly, and as always, I was there to help them. Protect them.

A Slytherin aiding two Gryffindors. I would have been the laughingstock of my house if anyone had ever known. No one ever knew except Dobby the House Elf, and I had made him swear on his clothes he would never tell a soul. But this was bigger than a petty school feud and bigger than a sense of pride. This was history in the making, and it would make a better future if Lord Voldemort was gone, even if my entire family was too blinded by fear and power to see it.

I was hiding in a tree on the edge of their encampment keeping myself from shivering with a dull warming spell when I heard Harry trying convince Hermione to make the stupidest mistake of all - Godric's Hollow.

_Don't. There's a trap._

I had gotten a vague idea of what they had been doing then - tracking down and destroying horcruxes. It was an excellent end goal, but they had horrible plans on how to achieve it. Going to Godric's Hollow to find clues on the other horcruxes was beyond careless, and Lord Voldemort would expect that move - Hermione would know that, Hermione would -

"Yes," I heard Hermione's matter-of-fact voice reply. "I agree, I think we should."

When I heard them disapparate to make preparations for their most dangerous destination yet, I was afraid for them. I knew their abilities and I knew my own as well, but I also knew the cunning ways of the Dark Lord and his traps.

They arrived in Godric's Hollow a week later, disguised as a random Muggle couple after drinking Polyjuice Potion. Hermione had forgotten about their footprints in the snow, so they foolishly revealed themselves from under Harry's perfect invisibility cloak. I knew it was them - even though Hermione was in another person's body, her mannerisms were exactly the same as those I had come to know at Hogwarts - long strides, a careful gaze at her surroundings, her habit of chewing the inside of her cheeks when she was nervous.

Underneath my invisibility cloak only a few feet away, I smiled.

I had not seen Hermione in over six months, and even though she was in someone else's body, it was almost like gazing at her. Since she was a girl, Hermione had always been the easiest one to keep track of in Hogwarts - I knew her schedule and habits better than Harry or Ron, and I grew used to watching her almost every day during the school year. Despite myself, Hermione had become a constant in my life and my world oddly seemed incomplete without her.

Harry and Hermione wandered the streets of Godric's Hollow together. They had found the Potter memorial, Dumbledore's home, and then found their way into the wizard cemetery. I stayed a respectful distance away while they explored the graves, finally settling at Harry's parents' tombstones.

When Hermione had transfigured a wreath to lay on the graves, a movement caught the corner of my eye. Under a streetlamp just outside the cemetery was an old woman.

_No_, I thought after noticing the strange way the woman moved, following Harry and Hermione as they shuffled back into town. _That's not just an old woman._

Something was off - I couldn't tell if it was good or bad, but I closed the distance between myself and Harry and Hermione as they continued through town, now using the invisibility cloak. I could hear their nervous breathing as they discovered the old woman could tell where they were despite the cloak. Then I heard Harry speak.

"Are you Bathilda?"

When the old woman nodded and began walking toward a house, I gripped my wand and followed. Another Harry Potter flaw: always too trusting.

I watched as they entered the house. Even from outside I could smell the rank stench of decomposing flesh. Perhaps it was an unfamiliar smell to Gryffindors, since they walked right in without hesitation. Keeping my invisibility cloak tight against my body, I followed after them.

The front room was empty, and I heard Hermione pacing nervously in the sitting room. Alone. _Why did that idiot leave her by herself? _Hermione must have heard me let out a huff of anger, as she quickly drew her wand and darted her eyes around the room.

"Wh-who's there?" she stammered out.

As I debated whether to pull off my invisibility cloak, the sound of a huge crash from upstairs filled the room.

"_Harry?" _Hermione called out. When another crash was heard through the floorboards, Hermione rushed up the stairs.

I had to wait - I had to know what it was so I could properly help them. I could hear them both yelling curses and the sound of explosions happening upstairs. I strained my ears to hear anything about their enemy, anything that would…

Hissing.

_The snake - the snake! Nagini!_ My mind raced as my heart thudded wildly against my chest. _That means…_

"He's coming! _Hermione he's coming!_" Harry's desperate voice screamed.

I didn't wait anymore - I pushed my legs up the stairs and burst into the scene. There was dust and rubble flying everywhere. I ducked as I heard Hermione scream, "_Confringo!"_ and the spell ricocheted around the room, grazing my shoulder and burning Harry on the back of the hand. Glass flew everywhere and I threw out the Killing Curse at the snake. I knew it wouldn't kill her, but they needed time, they needed that moment to crash through the window and disappear…

Lord Voldemort appeared then, screaming in anguish. I watched him look in despair outside at the empty street.

"You were very close, Quinn," Lord Voldemort whispered as he regained his composure. He could sense me despite my invisibility cloak. "I would appreciate it if next time you would not misdirect your curses at Nagini."

The snake slithered out from underneath a pile of rubble and wound herself around Lord Voldemort's shoulders, who patted her head affectionately.

"My deepest apologies, my Lord," I said, bowing as low as I could. "This was a very confusing scene."

Lord Voldemort only nodded slightly in acknowledgement. "Still, you were much closer than any other Death Eater. I trust you will succeed soon. Very soon."

"Of course, my Lord."

He nodded his pale-skinned head again and disapparated in a wisp of dark smoke. Nagini remained, hissing fervently at me. I glared back for a moment, then began to twist my body to disapparate when she lunged unexpectedly at me.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_ A green bolt of light flew at Nagini's head, who moved deftly out of the way. I cursed the snake again, but she seemed to have gained a sense of nimbleness and struck at me again. This time I felt her sharp teeth sink into my neck.

I fell back against the wall, and I felt my invisibility cloak ripped away as I slid down onto the dusty floorboards. Nagini slithered away, carrying my cloak with her. Merely an annoyance really, I could always get another. But now I was feeling so weak…

I had forgotten Nagini was a venomous snake. _Idiot._

My throat began to swell and my breathing became ragged. I could barely twitch my wand within my fingertips, much less twist my body to disapparate. My mouth filled with saliva and dribbled out of my mouth as I lost the ability to swallow…

"Dobby…" I croaked out. "_Help…me…"_

A loud _crack!_ filled the air and the ever loyal house elf appeared standing before me.

"Dobby is here, Miss Quinn Fabray!" he squeaked out nervously in his high-pitched voice. "Dobby will take Quinn Fabray to St. Mungo's for the venom antidote so Quinn Fabray can -"

"No…" I interrupted hoarsely.

"Then Dobby will take Quinn Fabray to the Weasley safe house -"

"No… I must stay with…"

"Then Dobby will take Quinn Fabray to Harry Potter's camp!"

"No…" I croaked out again.

"Dobby is a free elf, and Dobby will not let Quinn Fabray die!" Dobby said with finality, taking hold of my hand.

I couldn't respond then. I felt my eyes roll into the back of my head, and I vaguely felt the crushing sensation of apparition as my world became closed in darkness.

When I woke up, I was in a bed. It was a strange sensation after sleeping in trees for the past few months. As my vision cleared, I saw the soft warm light of a lantern, and Hermione reading a book beside it. I watched her for a few moments, not wanting to break the peaceful atmosphere. _I could stay like this_, I found myself thinking.

Of course, practically, that wasn't an option, so when Hermione had sighed and turned a page in her book, I moved my aching arm up to my neck where I knew Nagini had bitten me. Packed tightly to the wound was a roughly made poultice that was drawing out the venom. I winced as I touched it delicately, snapping Hermione out of her book.

"You're awake," Hermione said with an incredulous look on her face. Was she surprised? Relieved? Wary? She smiled. _Relieved._

"Yes," I replied, smiling slightly back.

"I wasn't sure if it would work," Hermione admitted as she walked to my bed and carefully peeled the poultice off my neck. Her cool fingertips grazed my skin, and I swallowed slowly. I had known Hermione for years, but this was the closest we had ever been to each other without an invisibility cloak.

"Dobby told us what you've been doing - what you've already done," Hermione stated slowly, giving me a curious look. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I knew this would happen," I explained. "I knew the Dark Lord would come back, and Harry would be important. But you need to have someone on the inside to -"

"Protect us," Hermione finished for me.

"Yes," I whispered. "To protect you."

Hermione was looking directly into my eyes at this point, but I quickly looked down at my hands. It was hard for me to read her in such close proximity. I couldn't tell if she believed me or suspected me, especially since I was sure they had seen the Dark Mark on my arm by now. I heard her take a deep breath as she looked at me.

"You're a very strange Slytherin, Quinn," Hermione said to break the silence.

I let out a half laugh, and I felt my lips curling into a tight smile. I looked up and met Hermione's dark brown eyes for the first time in the seven years I had known her. She smiled at me again and her face seemed filled with worry as she inspected the bite mark on my neck again.

A warm sensation curiously filled my body as I watched her concerned face. This is what it was like to be taken care of, to have someone care about your comfort and well-being. My parents, though constantly giving me quick kisses on the cheek whenever we parted and never denying me anything financially, had never done anything like this. When I was ill, I was sent immediately to bed with a glass of water and the needed medication. They never sat by me with a worried look as Hermione was doing now, never softly touched my skin so they wouldn't worsen my pain. I must have looked at Hermione with the same incredulous look she had given me when I woke up.

"What?" she asked with a smile, looking down in embarrassed self-consciousness.

"Nothing," I answered reassuringly. "This has just never happened before."

"What? Being looked after?"

I nodded slightly and looked back down at my hands. This whole scene was silly - hadn't I just saved them from Lord Voldemort and given them the half-second they needed to escape? Hadn't I trailed them unwaveringly for months? Hadn't I protected them for seven years?

So why was I simply melting in the presence of Hermione Granger? I had survived freezing nights in treetops with only my clothes and small spells for warmth, and here was I being undone by a witch a full year below me. I was painstakingly aware when she looked at me, when she breathed, and every miniscule movement of her body.

That's when I began to care about her - though perhaps I really began even earlier than that.

I fell back asleep with her reading in a chair beside my bed. I could have watched her read all night, but knowing how self-conscious she was, I willed myself to close my eyes and fall into a light sleep.

A few hours later, I heard the tent flaps open and the sound of two bodies enter the room. It should have only been one - Harry.

"_Petrificus totalus_!"

"_Protego!"_

The jet of light that lunged out of my wand bounced off the shield charm harmlessly.

Someone shuffled and lit the end of their wand. Ron Weasley's terrified face was illuminated by the bright light.

"I see you're awake," Harry said in a forced calm voice.

"Yes," I answered in a monotone voice, lowering my wand.

"Are you _mental_?" Ron blurted out to Harry. "I know her! She's Quinn Fabray! Fred and George said she was the queen bee of the whole Slytherin House! What are you doing trusting someone like her?"

"She's helped us," Harry replied quickly. "Quite a lot, actually."

"A lot?" Ron asked. His face only grew more confused.

"Ever since you first stepped foot into Hogwarts," I confirmed. I looked down at Hermione who had been sleeping peacefully with her head on her arms by the edge of my bed. I shook her shoulder gently.

It was hard to keep my face stoic when she had woken up - Hermione was livid when she saw Ron in the tent. I couldn't help stopping the edges of my lips from forming the smallest of smug smiles when she started repeatedly punching Ron. Unfortunately Harry had to stop the fun when he cast a shield charm over Ron so he could explain everything that had happened to him since he left.

"I walked straight into a gang of Snatchers, Hermione, and I couldn't go anywhere!" Ron explained hurriedly while Hermione clenched her jaw and crossed her arms in impatience.

"Yeah, Dobby's told us about them," Harry interrupted. "She's the lead one, actually."

When Harry gestured toward me, Ron shot me a look of utmost horror and gave another round of crazy looks to Harry and Hermione.

"And you-you trust her?"

"Well, they haven't been snatched, have they?" I snapped. I had no idea how Ron even stumbled into this friendship. He was so dense.

I stayed quiet after that and listened as Ron explained how he had also been trailing them after he had left, how he had found Harry, and how they had just destroyed the locket Horcruxes. The Deluminator Dumbledore had given Ron must have had some anti-detection enchantments, as I had never heard or sensed him after he had left. It troubled me; what else might I have missed? Who else could have unknowingly been watching them? Watching me?

Harry and Hermione didn't seem to be concerned about that detail, however, and after Ron explained how they destroyed the locket, Hermione climbed into the bunk bed above mine and covered herself with the blankets. I followed suit, though I could hear Harry and Ron discussing trivial things as they got their own beds ready. As I fell asleep, I hoped with the addition of Ron back into the group, they would stop making such risky decisions in their hunt for the remaining Horcruxes.

Of course, I was wrong.

This time, it was Hermione who made the suggestion. "I want to go and see Xenophilius Lovegood."

"No!" I said immediately. "It's too dangerous."

"Quinn, you think _everything_ is too dangerous," Hermione huffed. "Xenophilius will know about this mark we keep seeing - look!"

Hermione thrust her copy of _The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore_ in front of Harry. Apparently a letter from Dumbledore to Grindelwald had the same symbol they had seen on Luna Lovegood's father, _the Tales of Beedle the Bard_, and on a grave they had seen in Godric's Hollow.

"Fine," I relented, as Harry stared at the book. "I'll go and find out for you. I'll return as quickly as possible -"

"We're all going," Harry interrupted. And that was that - when Harry spoke, it was decided. _Fine._

They approached the Lovegood house without Harry's invisibility cloak. He had given it to me so I could watch outside for any Death Eaters. I did not have a good feeling about any of it, especially when I heard Xenophilius' explanation that Luna was at the stream fishing for Freshwater Plimpies. I had studied Magical Creatures enough to know that Freshwater Plimpies did not live in streams, but rather deep lakes. I was surprised Hermione did not pick up on this detail, and I watched carefully from a window outside the house.

Xenophilius appeared noticeably nervous and kept looking out the window past me, as if waiting for something to happen. As Xenophilius left the trio to gather tea, I watched as they headed up stairs to Luna's room and I saw the printing press in the house spit out a new copy of the Quibbler with Harry's picture on the cover with the caption: _Undesirable Number One._

It was a trap.

"_Stupfey!"_

Xenophilius and I shot out our Stunning Spells at the same time, though he had aimed for and missed Harry, while I shot mine straight for the Erumpent Horn in the middle of the room, which boomed into an explosion. I heard the wind buzz around me as two figures on broomsticks zoomed to the house and burst into the living room. Thankfully in the confusion, the two Death Eaters didn't believe Xenophilius at first.

I disapparated quickly to the second floor and pulled off the invisibility cloak. The air was filled with thick white dust and the floor was covered in piles of rubble. I caught sight of Hermione's arm moving slowly under broken floorboards, and I quickly grabbed her hand to pull her out. She was covered in white dust and her face had thousands of tiny cuts.

"Are you alright?" I whispered. She nodded, and I wiped a streak of dust off her cheek with my palm hurriedly then realized what I was doing. _Why did I do that?_

The soft groaning sound of Harry and Ron crawling out from other piles of rubble and broken furniture interrupted my nervous thoughts. I shoved the invisibility cloak into Hermione's dusty hands.

"Take this and get out," I whispered forcefully. "I'll hold them off -"

"How will you find us?" Hermione whispered back. That concerned look she gave me when I had woken up from the snake bite came over her face again, and the warm sensation filled my body. Couldn't she see that I wouldn't be able to stay away from that face for long?

"I'll always find you," I said. "Use the cloak and get out."

She nodded then quickly grasped my hand to give it a soft squeeze. I hesitated a moment, then reluctantly let go of her hand to disapparate downstairs.

I appeared in the living room to find Death-Eaters Travers and Selwyn watching Xenophilius digging through the debris blocking the stairs.

"You won't find them up there," I said coolly, causing all three to jump and look over at me. "They're not there."

"I swear…Potter's upstairs!" Xenophilius cried desperately, digging through the debris with even more fervor.

"I already checked," I stated dryly. "There are some advantages to being smaller and lighter."

I cast a judging look at the supposedly intimidating size of the two Death Eaters. They only grunted in reply and Travers kicked at Xenophilius to move faster.

Then I heard it - Hermione's confident voice casting the _Obliviate_ memory modifying charm and _Deprimo_ pressure spell. I quickly ran to grab Xenophilius and disapparated with him out of the house as the second floor caved in.

"You lied," I coughed out, spewing new memories to fill Xenophilius' head as we apparated into the fresh air outside. "You lied about Harry Potter being in your house so you could get Luna back. He was never really here."

"He was never really here," Xenophilius repeated in a faraway voice. His eyes snapped back to reality and caught my glare. "Quinn Fabray!" he cried out in surprise.

I slapped him hard across the face with the back of my hand. I heard his cheek bones crack after making contact with my knuckles. I had to make it as convincing as possible.

Travers and Selwyn appeared in coughing fits as Xenophilius moaned in pain and held his face gingerly.

"Do not call us unless you have Potter," I said scathingly. "Do not waste our time again or it will be Luna who will pay."

"I thought I caught of a glimpse of him," Travers said.

"Was this another one of your Quibbler distractions?" I asked Xenophilius quickly. I had to give them more time. "To throw us off the trail of the _real_ Harry Potter?"

"I-I…" Xenophilius stuttered. He had no idea what had just happened.

I grabbed him by his long white-blonde hair and threw him roughly to the ground.

"Make sure he doesn't lie again," I instructed Travers and Selwyn over my shoulder as I walked away to disapparate. When I twisted my body, I heard Sewlyn cry out "_Crucio!"_ and I winced disappearing into darkness.

I reappeared in the woods where Hermione had last set up camp, but they weren't there. _Obviously Hermione wouldn't repeat a location_, I scolded myself. I paced, thinking of all the places I had researched about Hermione. I had to find them - quickly - but my mind raced and I couldn't think clearly.

_You've got to protect her. You promised to find her. Where would she go?_

I couldn't think. Images of the Snatchers and how close they had been kept replaying my head. _They had been so close - what if I hadn't been there? I'm not there now - what if there is another group of Snatchers…_

Then I heard it. Harry's foolish voice.

"_Voldemort's after the Elder Wand!"_

I was drawn to it, and I disapparated knowing exactly where they were, the same knowledge that every Death Eater received at the very same moment. I had to get there before anyone else, I had to get there faster…

"THE NAME'S TABOO!" Ron bellowed as I appeared instantly in the tent. "It's how they find -"

I grabbed Harry's arm roughly and sank my hand into the inside pocket of his jacket, grabbing his invisibility cloak. When Ron clicked his Deluminator to cover the tent in darkness, I pointed my wand at Hermione.

"_Stupefy!"_

Hermione's stunned body slid into an empty corner of the tent, and I threw the invisibility cloak over her. As I heard people enter the tent, I threw a stinging hex at Harry's face and downed a bottle of Polyjuice Potion I kept in my cloak. I grimaced as my body quickly transformed. _They would not get her._

The Snatchers that invaded the tent were Fenir Greyback, Scabior, and a few others I didn't recognize. They searched the tent quickly and haphazardly while they had their wands pointed at us. Luckily they left the empty corner with Hermione's covered body alone. As the Snatchers grabbed us to disapparate, I thought I saw the air move in that corner ever so slightly.

We apparated at the gates of the Malfoy mansion, each prisoner tied to the other, and we were led hurriedly in. The Stinging Hex had not disguised Harry well enough, and Greyback was convinced it was him, especially after they found a pair of glasses on the ground. My Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa hurried us in and threw Harry in front of Draco.

"Well, boy?" Greyback rasped out.

"Well, Draco?" Lucius prompted impatiently. "Is it? Is it Harry Potter?"

_You're not sure_, I thought avidly. All the Malfoy's minds were embarrassingly weak - perhaps I could penetrate his and plant the thought.

"I can't - I can't be sure," Draco stuttered out.

"But look at him carefully, look! Come closer!" Lucius' voice was full of excited fervor, and I saw his unusually disheveled appearance. Had they completely fallen out of the Dark Lord's favor? Were they this desperate?

"I don't know," Draco whispered out again and moved quickly to his mother's side. Narcissa stroked Draco's blonde hair calmly.

"We had better be certain, Lucius," she said carefully. "Remember what he did to Rowle and Dolohov?"

"What about the Mudblood then?" Greyback growled, shoving me forward. "In the description it said Hermione Granger is a Mudblood who is known to be traveling with Harry Potter."

"Look, Draco, isn't this the Granger girl?" Narcissa asked Draco sharply, turning him to face me.

"I…maybe…yeah," he whispered.

My other aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, had entered the great room now. Her heavy-lidded eyes were filled with excitement at the news that had quickly gone around the mansion.

"Is it true, Cissy? Do we have Potter?" she asked her sister gleefully.

"Yes," Lucius answered for his wife, pulling up his left sleeve. "Shall we call the -"

"No, no, no," Bellatrix interrupted hurriedly. "I believe a little fun should be in order before we call the Dark Lord back from his long journey."

Bellatrix was leering at me, or who she believed to be Hermione Granger. She pulled out her silver knife and dragged it lightly around my neck. "Take these prisoners down to the cellar, Greyback," she ordered. "Except for the Mudblood."

"No! Ron shouted immediately. "You can have me, keep me!"

"If she dies under questioning, I'll take you next," Bellatrix promised harshly, using her knife to cut me free from the other prisoners and pulling me away by the hair. I swallowed and allowed fear to creep into my eyes to give a convincing performance. I watched as Greyback forced a shaking Ron and Harry down into the cellar.

"Well, well," Bellatrix mused as soon as we were alone. "I hear you have gotten hold of the Gryffindor sword - how can that be since it's in _my_ vault?"

"I-I don't know," I stammered out. Bellatrix only grinned at me and threw me violently away by the hair. I flew across the room and slammed loudly into the long dining table.

"Not the right answer," Bellatrix said in a sing-song voice. "Now, again - how did you get my sword?"

"I don't know," I repeated, this time in my normal monotone voice.

"_CRUCIO!"_

I couldn't help but scream when the Cruciatus Curse struck my body. I don't think anyone can help screaming and writhing uncontrollably on the ground, fully on the mercy of the curse caster.

It was pure agony - indescribable unbearable pain seared into every fiber of my being. I couldn't even block it out with happy thoughts - with the image of Hermione looking at me with her worried face, the light pressure of the squeeze of her hand…

And then the pain was gone. Bellatrix smiled cruelly at me as I struggled to get up from the ground and coughed harshly. A trickle of blood escaped out of the corner of my mouth and my entire body was weak. I couldn't even pick myself up…

Bellatrix walked quickly to hover over me and slid the metal edge of her knife against my cheek.

"I think everyone should know what a filthy Mudblood you are," she breathed out, millimeters from my face. I could feel my heart beat heavily against my chest, as I had no idea what she had thought of next. She grasped my left arm with her nails digging into my wrist and brought the sharp blade deep into my forearm.

I screamed again as she slowly carved the letters M-U-D-B-L-O-O-D into my arm, deliberately going over them twice to deepen the wound. When my arm became slick with dark red blood, Bellatrix wiped it with the palm of her hand, then wiped her hand on my face.

"Now, what else did you take, what else?" Bellatrix questioned again after she was satisfied with her work. "ANSWER ME! _CRUCIO!"_

I thought my vocal cords would explode from the intensity I was involuntarily screaming with - I felt sorry, _so very sorry_ on everyone I had placed this curse upon. It had always been necessary; it had never been out of anger or malice, but it was still the most excruciating experience to ever put a living creature through.

Then suddenly it was over again, and Bellatrix grabbed me once again by the hair and held the silver knife against my throat. "Drop your wands!" she screeched, pressing the blade harder into my throat. I felt drops of blood roll down my neck.

"All right!" a familiar foolish voice shouted.

I gulped fresh air deeply to rid my body of lingering pain and slowly my vision came back into focus. Somehow Harry and Ron had escaped from the cellar, but they were now laying their wands on the ground. I gritted my teeth. _Why did they have to come back for me? Can't they tell I'm not Hermione? How could they even think I would let Hermione get captured?_

Softly at first, but growing with persistence, I heard a grinding noise from above and the giant chandelier that hung from the ceiling was starting to quiver. After a moment, I saw it fall above me and it hit the marble floors with a huge crash.

Crystal shards flew everywhere, and I felt Ron grab my wrist and pull me out from under the chandelier.

"_Dobby?"_ Bellatrix shrieked out as she recognized the house elf who had brought down the chandelier. "How dare you defy your masters!"

"Dobby has no master," he squealed defiantly. "Dobby is a free elf, and Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his friends!"

Ron gripped my hand tightly as he reached out to grab Dobby when he disapparated out of the mansion. I saw a flash of silver and tried to grab one of the wands Ron was holding to deflect it, but the squeezing sensation was too distracting, and I couldn't…

When we finally landed on a rocky shoreline by Bill and Fleur Weasley's Shell Cottage, I ran towards Dobby. The tiny house elf stood teetering side to side as he looked down to see a silver knife handle sticking out of his chest. Harry had screamed his name and beat me to the elf, catching him and laying him gently on the grass.

"Dobby, no, don't die, don't die -" he murmured in disbelief.

"Harry…Potter…" Dobby whispered, then fell silent.

I kneeled on the ground next to Harry and saw tears beginning to fall down his face. Slowly, I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks Hermione," he choked out, lifting his head to look at my face. I must have changed back to my normal body then, because his tear-stained face turned into shock. "…Quinn?"

I nodded, then stood up to leave Harry alone with his grief. Truthfully, I didn't know what to say or how to deal with the situation, so I decided to walk away.

As I walked toward Shell Cottage, rubbing the dried blood off my face with my right hand, I heard the door to the cottage burst open. Hermione was sprinting out - for me.

"_How could you be so stupid, Quinn?_" she cried out in her worried voice as she reached me. I couldn't do anything but look at her - look at her safe, unharmed, unaching body and her concerned face. Hermione's eyes filled with tears as she threw her arms around my neck into a tight hug. "I'll never understand you."

"I told you I would find you," I said hoarsely while wrapping my right arm around Hermione to lightly hug her back.

She sighed then and hugged me tighter in her arms. My muscles burned, my left forearm throbbed from the carved letters, and I could barely stay standing, but the same tingling warm feeling whenever Hermione was around filled my body again.

It finally made sense then - is this the love and loyalty the arrogant Gryffindors had always preached about? I lifted my swollen left arm to wrap around Hermione and hold her tighter.

That's when I began to love her - though perhaps really I began to love her even earlier than that.

* * *

><p><em>So, I basically uploaded this whole thing because I couldn't figure out how to divide it into chapters. Hope it's a good one-shot.<br>_


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